


Change for the Better

by gonergone



Category: Longmire (TV)
Genre: M/M, Season/Series 06, Sharing a Bed, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 13:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12865794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gonergone/pseuds/gonergone
Summary: Henry knew it was a risk, but he was going to do it anyway, because if there was one thing he'd learned while he was tied to those stakes, it was the pain of things left undone.  Even if he were wrong, it would be worth it to know he had tried.  After all the years and all the missed opportunities, hehadto try.So he did.





	Change for the Better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CypressSunn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CypressSunn/gifts).



Henry was watching Walt dig out the spare blankets, the occasional curse emanating from deep within the closet that Walt used to store linens and other items that Henry didn't look at too closely. "I really do not need another blanket," Henry reminded him.

"So you keep saying." Walt pulled out an old horse blanket and frowned at it before sticking it back into the depths of the closet and starting to look in another pile. "And I keep telling you that you're a guest."

"I think that is ridiculous."

"I think I don't care."

Henry nodded, too tired to keep arguing. They had been around this particular point at least ten times in the course of the afternoon, and Henry was no closer to convincing Walt to let it go. That wasn't at all surprising – what was surprising, Henry though, touching his bruised wrist ruefully, was that he was so exhausted and muddled from his time in the sun that he'd tried arguing with Walt at all.

He tried a different tack. "I hate that I am putting you to so much trouble."

"It's no trouble," Walt replied gruffly, as Henry had known he would. "I needed to clean out some of this stuff anyway, especially if it turns out I have to move pretty soon."

Henry frowned, but knew that neither of them were really ready to talk about the trial and all it might mean for Walt. Not yet. 

"You know, someone told me that I'm too old to change. At the time, I ignored it, but now I'm thinking there might be something to it after all."

"Of course you do not want to move. Martha lived in this house."

"A lot of the good memories – the best memories – are of us together here. I've made my peace with her death, but…"

"She would appreciate your sentimental streak."

"She'd think I'm an idiot," Walt shrugged. 

"Also that," Henry agreed. 

Walt shut the closet door and leaned against it. "I swear I had –"

"I will be fine. I have slept in far worse conditions than on your sofa without a large number of blankets."

"If I'm going to make you stay here, then you're going to be comfortable. You can take the bed. I'll take the couch."

"I am not going to take your bed."

"Well, I'm on the couch, so you'll have to."

"If you keep going with this, we'll both end up on the floor," Henry pointed out.

"Only if you're too stubborn to take the bed."

"Or if you are." They both frowned at each other for a long moment.

"Guess we'll find out later tonight," Walt finally said.

"I guess we will," Henry agreed. "In the meantime, I will make dinner." His glare was enough to shut down any argument that Walt was going to make. If he was going to stay there, then he wasn't going to eat Walt's half-assed cooking, and that was all there was to it.

*

The confrontation was postponed during dinner, but not forgotten by either of them. From the set of Walt's mouth, Henry was sure nothing had changed on his side. 

"I do not want to argue with you."

"Then don't argue." 

"I am also not taking your bed."

"No, that you are doing." Walt held up a hand, glaring at him. "Look, it's been a long day for both of us. I just want to get some sleep. Just take the damn bed already."

"No." Henry glared back, crossing his arms across his chest for good measure.

"Henry…" Walt sighed, and in his eyes Henry could see exactly how exhausted he was. How exhausted they both were. 

Henry closed his eyes for a moment. "We will share the bed," he told Walt decisively. "It is a double bed. There will be plenty of room."

Walt snorted. "A double isn't a king, you know."

"Then we will have to make do."

Walt was silent for a long moment, his eyes lingering on Henry's. "I suppose we will," he said slowly, his tone uncertain.

"It is truly the only solution that does not leave someone in the literal cold."

Walt nodded, but his eyes were still searching Henry's face, looking for something that he apparently wasn't finding. 

"I will even let you have the bathroom first."

"Much obliged," Walt muttered, and if Henry hadn't known him for so long, he wouldn't have heard the sarcasm. It was enough to make Henry smile, and he was still smiling when he crawled under the clean sheets and layers of quilts of Walt's bed.

"You were right. This is much more comfortable than the sofa would have been."

"Yup, I know," Walt agreed as he turned out the light. 

Henry lay on his side, staring into the dark, and knew that Walt was doing the same. He could almost hear the gears turning in the other man's head, and had a pretty good idea of the direction of his thoughts. A pretty good idea, but not an absolute one. Henry knew there was a chance – a large chance, even – that he was wrong. That he was risking everything, all of their long years together and the vast trust that had built up during that time, on the most fragile of assumptions, on a half-mad idea, a gentle touch that had lasted just a moment too long, the looks he could feel when Walt thought he wasn't paying attention.

He knew it was a risk, but he was going to do it anyway, because if there was one thing he'd learned while he was tied to those stakes, it was the pain of things left undone. Even if he were wrong, it would be worth it to know he had tried. After all the years and all the missed opportunities, he _had_ to try.

So he did.

Henry turned over, careful not to yank the bedclothes along with him. He felt Walt shift, too, and in the dim light could make out Walt lying on his back.

"Do you remember the time we hitchhiked to Anchorage? The first time, I mean," Henry asked quietly.

It took Walt a moment to answer. "From the oil fields? Sure. It took us a couple of days to get there."

"We slept outside that night, out under the stars just off the road." They had. It had been summer, not too cold, but at some point in the night the fire they'd built had burned itself out, and when Henry had woken up in the morning they were wrapped together like lovers. Henry hadn't moved right away, and neither had Walt. Henry had always considered that moment the one he could've grabbed onto, could've used to change everything between them. 

"I remember." Walt's voice was low in the dark.

Henry reached out carefully and gently ran a finger along Walt's cheek. He wasn't sure if Walt had been expecting it or not, but the fact that Walt didn't pull away was all the encouragement he needed. 

Henry leaned closer, his lips pressing lightly against the stubble on Walt's chin, against the thin skin of his cheek. For a long, heartbreaking moment he thought Walt wouldn't respond at all, that he wouldn't even _move_ , but the he felt Walt's hand tangling in his hair and Walt's mouth pressing hard against his own.

The kiss broke after a moment, with both of them breathing hard. Before Henry could think about what he wanted to say, before he was even certain he wanted to say something, Walt kissed him again, and again, and again, their mouths moving together like they had been doing this all along. Like they should have been.

When Henry finally did pull away, he didn't go far, curling his body around Walt's. Walt didn't seem to mind.

"Do you really think we're too old to change?" Walt asked softly, his mouth close to Henry's ear.

Henry considered the question, and all the other, unasked questions that were behind it. "I think that we are at an age where change is more difficult, but I certainly do not think we are incapable of it." He cleared his throat slightly. "Especially if it's a change for the better."

"Is this a change for the better?"

"Definitely. Don't you agree?"

Walt was quiet for a long time. "Yeah," he finally said softly. "Definitely for the better."

"Good," Henry told him, and kissed him again, feeling Walt's arms wrap around him tightly. There were, he thought, far, far worse ways to spend the rest of his life than this. He thought Walt would agree.


End file.
